‘The Devil Raises His Own’ by Scott Phillips. Soho Crime, 384 pages, $27.95
The movie industry’s early days of comedies, dramas and westerns meant to appeal to general audiences also saw the rise of movies appealing to more prurient interests. Scott Phillips explores what was colloquially called “stag films” or “blue movies” in 1916 in his intriguing “The Devil Raises His Own.”
Using tightly coiled vignettes that link the characters to each other, Phillips shows how the early days of the movie industry weren’t that much different from today. The young star-struck flocked to Hollywood, hoping to break in to the industry, yet competed with thousands of others, even more attractive, more talented. Sometimes, those naïve people end up in unsavory aspects of the business.
“The Devil Raises His Own” centers on aging photographer Bill Ogden, who runs a Los Angeles portrait studio specializing in society matrons and businessmen. Bill occasionally photographs the performers employed by director Clyde Grady, who has ambitions of elevating his crude “blue movies” into more artistic films. Bill, introduced in Phillips’ “Hop Alley” (2014), runs his successful business with his granddaughter, Flavia, who fled Wichita, Kansas, after killing her abusive husband. Bill is quite familiar with all aspects of the burgeoning movie industry and has little respect for it.
Myriad characters shine in the various vignettes. George Buntnagel, a successful director of comedies, is gay and in a “lavender marriage” with artist Irene, who is lesbian. The couple is interested in investing in the growing, lucrative porn business. Trudy Crombie feels her only option to support her children is to act in Grady’s films. Comedian Tommy Gill’s tired routines and alcoholism has put his career on the skids. Amid all this, a series of seemingly unrelated murders are erupting across Los Angeles.
“The Devil Raises His Own” is Phillips’ eighth novel. He’s best known for his 2000 novel “The Ice Harvest,” the basis of the 2005 dark comedy film with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton.
Phillips captures the spirit and culture of 1916, from the growing infatuation with Hollywood to the interest in the war in Europe (the United States would enter World War I in 1917).
“The Devil Raises His Own” steadily moves through the characters’ struggles in a business that was still uncharted in 1916. Phillips even manages a Hollywood-esque ending — noir style.
AC/DC inspired
‘Back In Black: An Anthology Of New Mystery Short Stories’ edited By Don Bruns. Blackstone, 199 pages, $26.99
It’s doubtful that anyone who first listened to the Australian band AC/DC’s 1980 album “Back in Black” thought these songs could be the basis of mystery stories. Well, perhaps author and editor Don Bruns did. Bruns has assembled 10 A-list authors, each of whom has taken one track on the “Back in Black” album to rework into a short story.
Each story is a standout. Some use the title of the AC/DC song as the plot’s crux, others use that title as a snippet in the story.
In Heather Graham’s “Hells Bells,” that phrase becomes the only irritant for a woman considering a future with her seemingly perfect boyfriend. If only he’d stop saying “hells bells.” Then there is the little problem that he resembles a serial killer stalking Los Angeles. Hells bells indeed.
Charles Todd brings back his popular Ian Rutledge character for the emotionally charged “Have a Drink On Me,” set during 1916 on a WWI battlefield. The war scenes are intense, but Todd’s affinity for rich characters moves the story in which soldiers make a pact to meet for a drink after the war.
A radio therapist learns just how valuable her counsel has been in Tori Eldridge’s ”Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution.”
Andrew Child, who took over the Jack Reacher series from his brother, Lee Child, delves into espionage with Joe Reacher, Jack’s older brother, in the brisk “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
A loner and a dog living on a farm deliver a rousing plot in Dave Bruns’ “Givin’ the Dog a Bone.”
Don Bruns is among the editors using music in mystery short story collections. His last outing, “Hotel California,” featured the songs of The Eagles. Many of the authors in “Back in Black” are Florida-based, as is Bruns, who includes handy mini biographies on these writers.
Originally Published: